In the Moonlighting spread in SFX’s Vampire Special, Alex O’Loughlin gives his personal take on all sixteen episodes of Moonlight. Accompanying this great 9-page feature is the below article.

Moonlight should never have worked. The critics hated it, dismissing the show with words such as “anemic” and “derivative”, and deeming it nothing more than a genre stew consisting of ingredients from Highlander (non-humans living among us in every day walks of life), Angel (vampire PI looking for personal salvation) and Beauty and the Beast (an impossible romance). Their cause wasn’t hurt by the fact that Moonlight’s original showrunner was Angel co-creator David Greenwalt, and its co-creator was Ron Koslow, who produced the Ron Perlman/Linda Hamilton live action Beauty and the Beast TV series of the 1980s.

But the critics were wrong, on one level at least. The show deemed most likely to fail (and do so quickly) confounded everyone as it began winning its 9 pm Friday timeslot for CBS, not only in the ratings, but in the even more important demographics as well. Just as importantly, it seemed to spontaneously give birth to the kind of cult fanbase that most shows can only dream of – one that continues to thrive despite the fact that the show only lasted a single season. Ultimately it was a victim of the writers’ strike and a network that didn’t know what to do with it rather than a ratings crash.

Alex O’Loughlin, who stars as vampire Mick St. John, was instantly embraced by the audience and remains one of the most popular members of the undead ever (as evidenced by the poll starting on page 13). The thrust of the series is the growing relationship between Mick and internet reporter Beth Turner (Sophia Myles), despite the difficulties arising from their very different worlds.

For his part, O’Loughlin remains proud of what the show accomplished and what it represents. “I got to be a part of a story I really liked,” he says. “I’ve always wanted to play a vampire since I was a kid and that’s not something that will necessarily happen again in my lifetime. It was just a great fit and a great experience. It was also a stressful experience. We were working with a budget and we were always fighting for everything we needed. The show wasn’t considered the ‘golden child’ at all – we had to constantly present reasons why we shouldn’t be shut down.

“It was wonderful to fight for something and keep it alive for longer than it otherwise would have been,” he continues. “It’s great to be a part of a success, even if it was for only a season. The thing is, we were able to tell some really important stories. It wasn’t just about these monstrous creatures and sexuals romps. What we always went for was the human truth – the human story – and that’s the reason we make films in the first place. We didn’t always hit it, but I feel that from time to time we did and that’s why we held on to the audience – because they sensed that truth.”

To order a copy of the SFX Vampire Special, call the publisher in the UK on+44 1858 438797 (if you’re calling from the US, the number to dial is 011 44 1858 438 794). The Vampire Special is the SFX Collection #39. The issue costs £9.99 for the US (approx. $16.40) and £8.99 for Europe; prices include shipping and delivery will take 10-14 days. All credit cards are accepted, with the exception of American Express.

For hi-res scans of the Moonlight pages in the magazine, click on any of the images below:

[tags]alex o’loughlin, alex o’lachlan, moonlight, mick st. john[/tags]

Remember SFX Magazine’s Greatest Vampire Poll earlier this year? Well, Moonlight fans voted and this resulted in getting the fabulous Mick St. John, a.k.a. Alex O’Loughlin, to # 4 on the list of 50 Greatest Vampires of All Time and a very cool spread in the SFX Vampire Special Edition!

Here’s what the people at SFX had to say about Mick St. John:

There was some serious block voting going on when it came to this guy, but, to be fair, fans of all shows were equally entitled to block vote. Who are we to censure votes just because Moonlight fans got their act together and Blood Ties fans didn’t? Besides, think through the logic: if fans are avid enough to want to mobilize a voting campaign, what does that say about the guy they’re voting for? That he’s popular, basically. Ipso facto, he’s earned his place in the top 10, fair and square (though we’re glad he didn’t beat Christopher Lee).

Mick St. John is private investigator in modern-day Los Angeles who also just happens to be a vampire. (Hey, maybe he should form some kind of union with Angel; the Vampire Private Investigators Regulatory Executive – or VamPIRE.) He was sired around 60 years ago by his wife, Coraline, on his wedding day, which is one Hell of a way of consummating a marriage. But he’s not really confortable with the traditional vampire lifestyle and refuses to hunt women, children or innocents, and rejects the idea of treating humanity as just a quick snack.

After his disastrous nuptials, he’s understandably not keen on pursuing any romantic avenues for a while, but things change when he “bumps into” internet reporter Beth Turner. Bumps into in inverted commas, because he’s actually been stalking her since she was five, when he rescued her from his ex-wife… but let’s not go there. It’s all a bit creepy.

Why’s he so popular? The looks, the charm, the conflicted nature. He’s Edward Cullen for the mature woman, though a lot more eloquent (then again, there are sea sponges more eloquent than Edward Cullen). It’s like all the things that make vampires sexy have been distilled into one character. Which reminds us of another character… called Angel. Is it any coincidence that Angel co-creator David Greenwalt (in that he both co-created the show Angel and indeed the character Angel back in the early days of Buffy) was also one of the original showrunners on Moonlight? Short answer – no.

Mick St. John’s Moonlight cohort, Josef Kostan, is number 17 on SFX’s list. Jason Dohring, who immortalized the suave and amusing Josef, was a guest at the Breakout Before Moonlight Convention in London this past weekend, where he and fellow guest and Moonlight co-star, Jordan Belfi, won many female hearts. From SFX’s write-up on Josef:

The result was a louche, witty, energetic supporting character who often threatened to outshine the show’s star, Mick, whom he readily “re-turns’ into a vampire at one point after Mick has a brief relapse into humanity. Shame the show was cancelled as a Josef spin-off series could have been great.

The Vampire Special also includes a 9-page spread in which Alex O’Loughlin shares his thoughts on each individual episode of Moonlight!

To place an order for the magazine, call the publisher in the UK on+44 1858 438797 (if you’re calling from the US, the number to dial is 011 44 1858 438 794). The Vampire Special is the SFX Collection #39. The issue costs £9.99 for the US (approx. $16.40) and £8.99 for Europe; prices include shipping and delivery will take 10-14 days. All credit cards are accepted, with the exception of American Express.

For hi-res scans of the Moonlight pages in the magazine, click on any of the images below:

[tags]alex o’loughlin, alex o’lachlan, moonlight, mick st. john[/tags]